AkzoNobel reinforces its status as a global sustainability leader

September 03, 2009

AkzoNobel has again been recognized as one of the industry leaders on the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI), reflecting the company’s wholehearted commitment to improving its sustainability performance.

The latest listing – published today – reveals that AkzoNobel is in second place in the Chemicals supersector with a score of 87 percent, just 2 percent behind DSM in first place. It follows on from the company’s second place on the ranking in 2008 and leading position in 2007.

“The importance we attach to our DJSI ranking has been firmly established and our ranking among the sustainability leaders in our industry is a welcome recognition for our efforts,” said AkzoNobel CEO Hans Wijers. “Our motivation doesn’t stem from topping rankings or winning awards. Doing business in a sustainable way is critical to our economic future and the success of our customers. So we will continue to improve and put even more energy into remaining at the forefront of transforming our industry sector into a provider of sustainable solutions”

Listed on the DJSI for the last five years, AkzoNobel has systematically reinforced its commitment to sustainability. This was emphasized late last year when 50 percent of the long-term incentive scheme for all executives was directly linked to the company’s ranking on the influential DJSI index.

Other recent developments have included the introduction of a unique company-wide cradle-to-gate carbon emission reduction program and the integration of sustainability reporting into the AkzoNobel 2008 Report.

Regarded as one of the world’s foremost sustainability indices, the DJSI World Index benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking indicators.